On the 25th April, 36 aircraft formed up to practise for the King's coronation flypast. At least one aircraft from each element took part in the practice so the timings can be perfected for the real thing on Saturday 6th May.
The flypast started with the choppers, featuring the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the British Army.
Next, the Battle of Britian Memorial Flight's Avro Lancaster which will have a fighter escort on the day.
Following that, two Texan T1s from RAF Valley flanking a Phenom T1, one of the aircraft based at RAF Cranwell.
Next up, an A400M Atlas leading a pair of the soon-to-be-retired C-130J Hercules. These were chased down by the aircraft the transported Queen Elizabeth II's body to London, the C-17 Globemaster.
The Voyager - the RAF's largest aircraft - was leading another A400M Atlas, before the 'ISTAR' (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition & Reconnaissance) duo of P-8 Poseidon and RC-135W Rivet Joint flew over in formation.
Next up is the fighters: a 6-ship of F-35B Lightnings followed by the Eurofighter Typhoons - only six for the practice but approximately 20 on the day. It is anticipated they will spell 'CIIIR' in the sky.
Finally, for what will be its debut flypast over London is the new Envoy CC.1 which will be in formation with The Red Arrows - the first time a civil registered aircraft has been involved in a London flypast since Concorde in 2002 for the Queen's Golden Jubilee!
*Edit following 6th May:
Unfortunately, due to the inclement weather conditions, the majority of the flypast was cancelled with the exception of the helicopters and the Red Arrows. It’s a real shame that the public may never see the formation the Typhoons have spent hours practising, and indeed the other elements which were lined up over the North Sea including C-17 Globemaster ZZ177, the aircraft that flew the late Queen’s coffin back to London from Scotland.
If you’d like to see that, click this link - • King Charles III Coron...
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